Hello,
Yesterday was the first game in the 3 game series between the Baltimore Orioles vs. the Detroit Tigers. Detroit won the game 5-1. Within that game there was an individual matchup that was very interesting to me. The two most likely players to win the Triple Crown this year were going Mano O Mano. Not only did Detroit win the game but Cabrera wins the first individual matchup. Sometimes I wonder if Cabrera is just a machine, he's so incredibly consistent. He was 3 for 4 yesterday, with a home run and 2 RBIs. He improved all of his numbers in the triple crown statistics. Cabrera now has 19 home runs, 71 RBIs and is hitting .358. If he keeps on hitting like this, which I'm sure he will, he'll probably also lead the league in intentional walks.
While Cabrera was having a good game, so was Davis. Davis was 2 for 4, with a home run and 1 RBI. He now has 24 home runs, 61 RBI's and is hitting .337.
In the race for the triple crown, Cabrera is ahead a bit. Last season Cabrera was the first player to win the triple crown since 1967. Before Cabrera's win, the last winner was the Red Sox's Carl Yazstremski. It took 45 years between triple crown winners, so it's strange to have two players that are so close to winning it again this season. Although to be fair the season isn't even half over yet.
Cabrera is first in batting average, first in RBIs and tied for third place in home runs. Cabrera is an incredible 10 RBIs ahead of the second place Davis. That probably has to do with Cabrera being more of a contact hitter.
Meanwhile Davis is 4th in batting average, second in RBIs and has 24 home runs. As with Cabrera running away in RBIs, Davis is running away in home runs. Davis has 5 more homers than Cabrera.
Game 2 in this matchup between 2 very good teams and 2 superstars is Tuesday at 7:08 EST.
Other highlights in Monday's games. In that same Tigers-Orioles game Max Scherzer improved to 10-0, clearly a leading candidate to both start the All-Star Game and to win the AL Cy Young. Although Scherzer is 10-0, he only has a pedestrian 3.08 ERA. It helps when a team gives their pitchers run support.
For the second time in three games, Freddie Freeman had a walk off hit for the Braves. On Saturday Freeman had a single to lead the Braves to a victory over the Giants. That was a crucial hit as well, the Braves had lost 4 straight games leading to that victory. Last night in the Braves 2-1 vict ory over the Mets they hadn't scored a run heading into the bottom of the 9th inning. In that 9th inning Justin Upton had a single, which gave the Braves the tying run on the base paths. Next up was Freddie Freeman, who hit a two run home run. With their victory the Braves now have a 3 game winning streak, It just goes to show you how close it is between winning and losing a game.
Both the Padres and the Blue Jays continue their hot streaks. San Diego defeated the Giants 5-3 in 13 innings Monday. They've won 7 straight and 8 of 10 games. They have moved out of their seemingly permanent home of 4th place in the NL West. San Diego bypassed the defending World Series champions Giants with their torrid win streak. San Diego is now in 3rd place and only a game out of first place. (This gives me hope that the faltering Dodgers can make the same kind of run, although I'm not realistically expecting the Dodgers to do so.)
While that was going on the Blue Jays were also winning again. Toronto beat Colorado 2-0 and have won 6 straight games. The Blue Jays have won 8 of 10 as well. In the AL East the Blue Jays are still solidly in last place, but I'm sure they are making the Rays nervous. In the AL East, the Blue Jays are only 8 games out of first place. The NL West and AL East are shaping up to have very similar kinds of seasons.
themusicaddict
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Dodgers Daily, June 16th, 2013: Puig On Fire, Dodgers Not!, Here Comes The Orioles! (Updated 6/17/2013)
Hello,
Pittsburgh took 2 of 3 from the Dodgers in their series this weekend. I predicted that Pittsburgh would win 2 of 3. That's not because I'm a genius, these two teams are clearly going in opposite directions. Also the Pirates were playing at home, so the reasonable expectation was that they would win 2 of 3.
Yasiel Puig is doing everything he can to carry this team, but he's just not getting enough support. After having an off day yesterday, Puig was back to his usual level of performance today. He was 3 for 4 and is hitting an incredible .479 through 48 at bats. The Dodgers scored 3 runs today and Puig scored or was on the base paths for every run that they scored. Puig was also 1-1 with runners in scoring position. Puig was the clean up hitter today, too bad the 3 batters in front of him were only 2 of 12.
Andre Ethier continues to round back into form, he was 2 for 4 Sunday. His batting average is now up to .249. One of my criticisms of this Dodgers team is their inability to have key hits in situations where they can score runs. I was glad that Ethier was 2 for 3 with runners in scoring position.
Zack Greinke earned the loss, his record drops to 3-2-2. That's 3 wins, 2 losses and 2 brawls. He gave up 8 hits, 5 runs and 2 walks in 5 innings. His ERA increased to 4.22. I'm pretty certain the Dodgers could have paid much less than $21,000,000 this season for such a subpar performance.
For the Pirates, pitcher Gerrit Cole continued his magical start. For much less money than Greinke, he was more effective. Cole pitched 5 2/3rd innings, giving up 7 hits, 3 runs and no walks. He also has a lower ERA, 3.75.
Don Mattingly keeps on talking about how this team just needs to go on a run. He also said something very similar last August and we know how well that worked out. The 2012 and 2013 Dodgers remind me a lot of each other and that's not a compliment to either team.
The Dodgers are now 29-39 and last place in the NL West. Meanwhile the top 4 teams in the NL West are bunching together. There's only a two game difference between the first place Diamondbacks and the 4th place Padres. However the Dodgers are in 5th and last place, they trail the 4th place Padres by 5.5 games. According to ESPN.com, LA now has a 2.0% chance of making the playoffs. Even though that number is low, it almost feels optimistic for how bad the Dodgers are playing. Thankfully LA gets Monday off.
Meanwhile as the Dodgers quickly drop to the bottom of the National League, Baltimore is quickly rising to the top of the American League. The Red Sox came into Baltimore and this series on a roll, they led the Yankees by 3 games. After Baltimore took 3 of 4 from Boston, they've cut the Red Sox lead to 1.5 games. The Orioles have surged past the Yankees in those 4 games. Previously the Yankees were 1/2 game ahead of Baltimore, now Baltimore leads the Yankees by 2 games. The Yankees won today, just barely, after losing their previous 5 games.
Boston and Oakland are tied for the best record in the American League, the Orioles are in third place overall in the AL.
While the Orioles are playing great, one of their players is playing even better. Chris Davis seems to be breaking out on his way to becoming a superstar. Davis, who's challenging Miguel Cabrera among others, for the triple crown hit his MLB leading 23rd home run today. It's also his 100th home run of his career. In number of home runs, Davis leads 5th place Cabrera by 5. However Cabrera is running away in RBIs, he has 69, Davis is second in MLB with 60. Cabrera is tied with Yadier Molina for the batting average lead, both players are hitting .352. Chris Davis is 4th in batting average as he's hitting .335.
As many people expected the AL East is the toughest division in MLB. I've already written about the Top 3 teams, but both the Rays and even the Blue Jays are making noise. Tampa Bay is 36-33, fourth place in the AL East and trail the Red Sox by 5 games. Tampa Bay has a 41.1 % chance to make the playoffs, which is actually better than third place New York. Then all of a sudden the Blue Jays are starting to live up to the potential of all their off season moves. Toronto, currently 32-36, has won 5 games in a row and 8 of 10. With 94 games remaining they trail the Red Sox by 8.5 games and their chances of making the playoffs is 12.1%. With a 32-36 record a team would be in 3rd place in the AL West and tied for 3rd place in the NL East.
The AL East could be a classic race down the stretch.
themusicaddict
Pittsburgh took 2 of 3 from the Dodgers in their series this weekend. I predicted that Pittsburgh would win 2 of 3. That's not because I'm a genius, these two teams are clearly going in opposite directions. Also the Pirates were playing at home, so the reasonable expectation was that they would win 2 of 3.
Yasiel Puig is doing everything he can to carry this team, but he's just not getting enough support. After having an off day yesterday, Puig was back to his usual level of performance today. He was 3 for 4 and is hitting an incredible .479 through 48 at bats. The Dodgers scored 3 runs today and Puig scored or was on the base paths for every run that they scored. Puig was also 1-1 with runners in scoring position. Puig was the clean up hitter today, too bad the 3 batters in front of him were only 2 of 12.
Andre Ethier continues to round back into form, he was 2 for 4 Sunday. His batting average is now up to .249. One of my criticisms of this Dodgers team is their inability to have key hits in situations where they can score runs. I was glad that Ethier was 2 for 3 with runners in scoring position.
Zack Greinke earned the loss, his record drops to 3-2-2. That's 3 wins, 2 losses and 2 brawls. He gave up 8 hits, 5 runs and 2 walks in 5 innings. His ERA increased to 4.22. I'm pretty certain the Dodgers could have paid much less than $21,000,000 this season for such a subpar performance.
For the Pirates, pitcher Gerrit Cole continued his magical start. For much less money than Greinke, he was more effective. Cole pitched 5 2/3rd innings, giving up 7 hits, 3 runs and no walks. He also has a lower ERA, 3.75.
Don Mattingly keeps on talking about how this team just needs to go on a run. He also said something very similar last August and we know how well that worked out. The 2012 and 2013 Dodgers remind me a lot of each other and that's not a compliment to either team.
The Dodgers are now 29-39 and last place in the NL West. Meanwhile the top 4 teams in the NL West are bunching together. There's only a two game difference between the first place Diamondbacks and the 4th place Padres. However the Dodgers are in 5th and last place, they trail the 4th place Padres by 5.5 games. According to ESPN.com, LA now has a 2.0% chance of making the playoffs. Even though that number is low, it almost feels optimistic for how bad the Dodgers are playing. Thankfully LA gets Monday off.
Meanwhile as the Dodgers quickly drop to the bottom of the National League, Baltimore is quickly rising to the top of the American League. The Red Sox came into Baltimore and this series on a roll, they led the Yankees by 3 games. After Baltimore took 3 of 4 from Boston, they've cut the Red Sox lead to 1.5 games. The Orioles have surged past the Yankees in those 4 games. Previously the Yankees were 1/2 game ahead of Baltimore, now Baltimore leads the Yankees by 2 games. The Yankees won today, just barely, after losing their previous 5 games.
Boston and Oakland are tied for the best record in the American League, the Orioles are in third place overall in the AL.
While the Orioles are playing great, one of their players is playing even better. Chris Davis seems to be breaking out on his way to becoming a superstar. Davis, who's challenging Miguel Cabrera among others, for the triple crown hit his MLB leading 23rd home run today. It's also his 100th home run of his career. In number of home runs, Davis leads 5th place Cabrera by 5. However Cabrera is running away in RBIs, he has 69, Davis is second in MLB with 60. Cabrera is tied with Yadier Molina for the batting average lead, both players are hitting .352. Chris Davis is 4th in batting average as he's hitting .335.
As many people expected the AL East is the toughest division in MLB. I've already written about the Top 3 teams, but both the Rays and even the Blue Jays are making noise. Tampa Bay is 36-33, fourth place in the AL East and trail the Red Sox by 5 games. Tampa Bay has a 41.1 % chance to make the playoffs, which is actually better than third place New York. Then all of a sudden the Blue Jays are starting to live up to the potential of all their off season moves. Toronto, currently 32-36, has won 5 games in a row and 8 of 10. With 94 games remaining they trail the Red Sox by 8.5 games and their chances of making the playoffs is 12.1%. With a 32-36 record a team would be in 3rd place in the AL West and tied for 3rd place in the NL East.
The AL East could be a classic race down the stretch.
themusicaddict
Dodgers Daily: June 15th, 2013: Dodgers Win, Braves Break 4 Game Losing Streak In Walk Off Fashion
Hello,
The Dodgers defeated the Pirates 5-3 in 11 innings on Saturday. But even when the Dodgers win now, they don't necessarily look good doing it. Clayton Kershaw continues to be a hard luck pitcher. He had yet another brilliant game, but ended with a no decision due to the lack of run support. Kershaw, who remains at 5-4, pitched 7 innings and only gave up 3 hits, 3 walks and 1 earned run. He also added 8 strikeouts, which gives him 104 strikeouts this season. Kershaw is tied with the Cubs Jeff Samardzija for 4th place in MLB. Kershaw is all alone in third place in ERA with his 1.84 ERA.
Areas where the Dodgers didn't look good on Saturday:
1) Newly named closer Kanley Jansen had his second blown save of the season, when he gave up pinch hitter's Travis Snider's home run in the bottom of the 9th. After that Jansen buckled down to at least let the Dodgers to the 10th inning.
2) Beleagured former closer Brandon League then had the chance to earn a save in the bottom of the 11th inning. He was able to, but he had to make it exciting first. When Pittsburgh saw that League was pitching the 11th inning, I'm guessing they liked their chances. League has been incredibly inconsistent this season, especially of late. League has 4 blown saves this season, second in all of MLB. Entering this game his ERA was 5.76 and hadn't had a great outing in his last few appearances. On Saturday he gave up 2 hits, but was able to earn his 14th save of the season. League also lowered his ERA to 5.54, which is the kind of stat you'd expect from the former closer of a last place team.
3) Adrian Gonzalez continues to struggle, although he's still hitting over .300. Gonzalez was 1 for 5 and he's hitting .304 this season. (Meanwhile in Boston: Perhaps the most coveted player the Red Sox received in their huge 2012 trade with the Dodgers was Rubby De La Rosa. De La Rosa has worked his way up to the Red Sox. If he ends up having a great career, that trade will continue to be even worse for the Dodgers.)
4) After being on DL twice and almost being put on DL a third time, Hanley Ramirez was also 1 for 5 and is only hitting .267 this season. Although he's struggling, I'm glad to have him back.
5) The Dodgers are still playing without Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford. When they come back, will they be healthy enough to rediscover their former abilities?
6) Although the Dodgers scored 5 runs on Saturday, Washington scored 7 runs. Now those two teams are tied for 27th in MLB for runs scored. The White Sox are right on the tail of both teams. Even though the White Sox have played 2 less games than either team, they are only 4 runs behind both. It's quite possible the Dodgers could be in 29th place in runs scored soon.
But the important thing for the Dodgers is that they got the win, almost as importantly they scored at least 5 runs. The Dodgers are now 16-5 when they score at least 5 runs. In a rare occurrence the Dodgers actually had multiple clutch hits in this game. Juan Uribe drove in Andre Ethier. Then pinch hitter Nick Punto drove in Uribe.
It's good to see Ethier waking up a bit, has he finally found his stroke? Ethier was 3 for 4 and raised his batting average to .244. I'm guessing he got sick of flirting with the Mendoza Line. Ethier also scored the game winning run.
Another Dodger player that was 1 for 5 was Yasiel Puig, although he's still hitting .455.
The Dodgers remain in last place in the NL West as the top 4 NL West teams bunch together. There's only a 3 game difference between first place Arizona and fourth place San Diego. The Dodgers are 4.5 games behind the Padres. LA is now 29-38, they've won 1 in a row, but only 4 of their last 10 games. LA has a 2.6% chance of making the playoffs.
Upcoming: Today's scheduled pitching matchup is Zack Greinke (3-1, 3.68 ERA) vs. Gerrit Cole (1-0, 2.84 ERA) in the final game of the three game series. Cole had a pretty memorable MLB debut a few days ago. Greinke also had a memorable game in his last appearance, sadly it was all for the wrong reasons. He was a key player in the Dodgers second brawl of the season, in both brawls he was LA's starting pitcher. The Dodgers have Monday off before playing the Yankees in New York for a two game series. Long time fans of both teams will remember when this series actually meant something. However this Yankees team has lost their last 5 games.
Meanwhile in Atlanta the Braves finally broke their four game losing streak, they beat San Francisco in dramatic walk off fashion. Freddie Freeman had the clutch walk off single. Also B.J. Upton had his 7th and 8th home runs of the season. Although he's still hitting only a paltry .166, does this mean he's finally going to be the player he can be?
Atlanta is 40-28 on the season, first place in the NL East and lead second place Washington by 5.5 games. Atlanta has won 1 game in a row, but have only won 4 of their last 10 games. The Braves still have a 93.6% chance of making the playoffs, especially in the less than stellar NL East.
The Braves close their 3 game series on Sunday Night Baseball with the Giants. Starting tomorrow Atlanta welcomes the Mets (24-39) for a 4 game series.
Also the Red Sox-Orioles wrap up their 4 game series in Baltimore today. Baltimore has won 2 of 3 games so far.
themusicaddict
The Dodgers defeated the Pirates 5-3 in 11 innings on Saturday. But even when the Dodgers win now, they don't necessarily look good doing it. Clayton Kershaw continues to be a hard luck pitcher. He had yet another brilliant game, but ended with a no decision due to the lack of run support. Kershaw, who remains at 5-4, pitched 7 innings and only gave up 3 hits, 3 walks and 1 earned run. He also added 8 strikeouts, which gives him 104 strikeouts this season. Kershaw is tied with the Cubs Jeff Samardzija for 4th place in MLB. Kershaw is all alone in third place in ERA with his 1.84 ERA.
Areas where the Dodgers didn't look good on Saturday:
1) Newly named closer Kanley Jansen had his second blown save of the season, when he gave up pinch hitter's Travis Snider's home run in the bottom of the 9th. After that Jansen buckled down to at least let the Dodgers to the 10th inning.
2) Beleagured former closer Brandon League then had the chance to earn a save in the bottom of the 11th inning. He was able to, but he had to make it exciting first. When Pittsburgh saw that League was pitching the 11th inning, I'm guessing they liked their chances. League has been incredibly inconsistent this season, especially of late. League has 4 blown saves this season, second in all of MLB. Entering this game his ERA was 5.76 and hadn't had a great outing in his last few appearances. On Saturday he gave up 2 hits, but was able to earn his 14th save of the season. League also lowered his ERA to 5.54, which is the kind of stat you'd expect from the former closer of a last place team.
3) Adrian Gonzalez continues to struggle, although he's still hitting over .300. Gonzalez was 1 for 5 and he's hitting .304 this season. (Meanwhile in Boston: Perhaps the most coveted player the Red Sox received in their huge 2012 trade with the Dodgers was Rubby De La Rosa. De La Rosa has worked his way up to the Red Sox. If he ends up having a great career, that trade will continue to be even worse for the Dodgers.)
4) After being on DL twice and almost being put on DL a third time, Hanley Ramirez was also 1 for 5 and is only hitting .267 this season. Although he's struggling, I'm glad to have him back.
5) The Dodgers are still playing without Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford. When they come back, will they be healthy enough to rediscover their former abilities?
6) Although the Dodgers scored 5 runs on Saturday, Washington scored 7 runs. Now those two teams are tied for 27th in MLB for runs scored. The White Sox are right on the tail of both teams. Even though the White Sox have played 2 less games than either team, they are only 4 runs behind both. It's quite possible the Dodgers could be in 29th place in runs scored soon.
But the important thing for the Dodgers is that they got the win, almost as importantly they scored at least 5 runs. The Dodgers are now 16-5 when they score at least 5 runs. In a rare occurrence the Dodgers actually had multiple clutch hits in this game. Juan Uribe drove in Andre Ethier. Then pinch hitter Nick Punto drove in Uribe.
It's good to see Ethier waking up a bit, has he finally found his stroke? Ethier was 3 for 4 and raised his batting average to .244. I'm guessing he got sick of flirting with the Mendoza Line. Ethier also scored the game winning run.
Another Dodger player that was 1 for 5 was Yasiel Puig, although he's still hitting .455.
The Dodgers remain in last place in the NL West as the top 4 NL West teams bunch together. There's only a 3 game difference between first place Arizona and fourth place San Diego. The Dodgers are 4.5 games behind the Padres. LA is now 29-38, they've won 1 in a row, but only 4 of their last 10 games. LA has a 2.6% chance of making the playoffs.
Upcoming: Today's scheduled pitching matchup is Zack Greinke (3-1, 3.68 ERA) vs. Gerrit Cole (1-0, 2.84 ERA) in the final game of the three game series. Cole had a pretty memorable MLB debut a few days ago. Greinke also had a memorable game in his last appearance, sadly it was all for the wrong reasons. He was a key player in the Dodgers second brawl of the season, in both brawls he was LA's starting pitcher. The Dodgers have Monday off before playing the Yankees in New York for a two game series. Long time fans of both teams will remember when this series actually meant something. However this Yankees team has lost their last 5 games.
Meanwhile in Atlanta the Braves finally broke their four game losing streak, they beat San Francisco in dramatic walk off fashion. Freddie Freeman had the clutch walk off single. Also B.J. Upton had his 7th and 8th home runs of the season. Although he's still hitting only a paltry .166, does this mean he's finally going to be the player he can be?
Atlanta is 40-28 on the season, first place in the NL East and lead second place Washington by 5.5 games. Atlanta has won 1 game in a row, but have only won 4 of their last 10 games. The Braves still have a 93.6% chance of making the playoffs, especially in the less than stellar NL East.
The Braves close their 3 game series on Sunday Night Baseball with the Giants. Starting tomorrow Atlanta welcomes the Mets (24-39) for a 4 game series.
Also the Red Sox-Orioles wrap up their 4 game series in Baltimore today. Baltimore has won 2 of 3 games so far.
themusicaddict
Saturday, June 15, 2013
themusicaddict's Greatest Hits Of Halestorm
Hello,
I've been listening to Halestorm a lot lately. If you aren't very familiar with Halestorm, I highly recommend you check out their most recent CD, 2012's "The Strange Case of ...." Check it out below:
Just when I think there's no more good rock music being made, I discover bands like Halestorm and Rival Sons. Great rock music isn't leaving much of an imprint on pop culture now. But these things are cyclical and I'm hope rock music will be making it's inevitable comeback soon.
Lizzy I don't expect you to listen to me, but red heads are much hotter than brunettes.
I enjoy how they balance harder rock with mellow and almost fragile songs. I love the vocals of Lizzy Hale and love how good she sounds on the following song. She kicks the crap out of "I Miss The Misery", which I mean as a compliment. I don't know how to describe with her voice on this song, but she shreds this "Misery". This is a great song to get catharsis on.
Here's the studio version of "I Miss The Misery":
"Freak Like Me":
"It's Not You":
"Mz. Hyde":
"American Boys":
"Rock Show":
Here's a couple of their softer songs, these songs are almost fragile and vulnerable. "In Your Room":
"Here's To Us":
Here's a couple of their interesting covers. I really like their cover of Skid Row's "A Slave To The Grind", but the only videos I could find of that the sound was terrible.
This is their butt kicking take of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance":
One great female led rock band covered by another great female led rock band. This is Halestorm's cover of Heart's "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You":
themusicaddict
I've been listening to Halestorm a lot lately. If you aren't very familiar with Halestorm, I highly recommend you check out their most recent CD, 2012's "The Strange Case of ...." Check it out below:
Just when I think there's no more good rock music being made, I discover bands like Halestorm and Rival Sons. Great rock music isn't leaving much of an imprint on pop culture now. But these things are cyclical and I'm hope rock music will be making it's inevitable comeback soon.
Lizzy I don't expect you to listen to me, but red heads are much hotter than brunettes.
I enjoy how they balance harder rock with mellow and almost fragile songs. I love the vocals of Lizzy Hale and love how good she sounds on the following song. She kicks the crap out of "I Miss The Misery", which I mean as a compliment. I don't know how to describe with her voice on this song, but she shreds this "Misery". This is a great song to get catharsis on.
Here's the studio version of "I Miss The Misery":
"Freak Like Me":
"It's Not You":
"Mz. Hyde":
"American Boys":
"Rock Show":
Here's a couple of their softer songs, these songs are almost fragile and vulnerable. "In Your Room":
"Here's To Us":
Here's a couple of their interesting covers. I really like their cover of Skid Row's "A Slave To The Grind", but the only videos I could find of that the sound was terrible.
This is their butt kicking take of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance":
One great female led rock band covered by another great female led rock band. This is Halestorm's cover of Heart's "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You":
themusicaddict
Friday, June 14, 2013
Dodgers Daily, June 14th, 2013: Why Are The Dodgers So Bad?, Pirates Win Again.
Hello,
I don't anticipate this blog being very long. I'm not sure what can be said anymore about this bad Dodgers team.
As for the suspensions that were handed down today, I have no comment. The Dodgers didn't have any devastating suspensions, thank goodness Yasiel Puig wasn't suspended. Suspended for the Dodgers were Don Mattingly, Mark McGwire, Ronald Belisario, J.P. Howell, Skip Schumaker. Will someone please tell Belisario to shut up about hostilities between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers aren't over yet. If the Dodgers are that fired up about the brawl, I wish they'd use that feeling in their play.
In the first game of their 3 game series, Pittsburgh beat the moribund Dodgers 3-0. LA took advantage of their day off by scoring as many runs on Friday as they did on their day off- 0. LA had 6 hits in another pathetically inept offensive performance. The Dodgers only had one extra base hit and were 0-4 with runners in scoring position. They finished with 5 players left on base. That really isn't that many, actually it's more of an indication of how few players LA actually got on base.
Guess who the Dodger was that had the most hits. Well who else but Yasiel Puig, he was 2 for 4 and is hitting .487 this season.
The Dodgers are now 28-38 and last place in the NL West. Not only are they last place in the NL West, but they continue to fall behind even more. LA are 4.5 games behind 4th place San Diego. The Dodgers have a 1.8% chance of reaching the playoffs. They have a better chance of making the playoffs than only really, really bad teams. Milwaukee (1.5%), Seattle (1.4%), Mets (1.0%), Miami (.1%)
Meanwhile Pittsburgh remains competitive in the very tough NL Central Division. Although they've only won half of their last 10 games, they are still within striking range of the Cardinals. Pittsburgh is 40-27 and only 3 games behind the Cardinals for the NL Central lead. Pittsburgh has a 46.5% chance of making the playoffs. Unlike the Dodgers they also have a pulse and it seems some team chemistry.
For the Pirates Andrew McCutchen continues his flirtation with .300. He was 2 for 4 today and is hitting .299. He has the best batting average of any regular player on the Pirates. Dodgers and Pirates hitters are hitting about the same if you subtract the anomaly of Puig. The Pirates play in a tougher division and have only scored 20 more runs than the Dodgers, so why do they have 12 more wins?
It's not many teams that can trade away their All-Star closer and actually get better. However that's what happened to the Pirates. They traded Joel Hanrahan to the Red Sox and then signed Jason Grilli in free agency. Grilli had his 24th save of the season and has an incredible 0.91 ERA. He's tied with the Orioles Jim Johnson for most saves in the MLB. Meanwhile the Dodgers former closer, Brandon League, is tied for second in blown saves.
themusicaddict
I don't anticipate this blog being very long. I'm not sure what can be said anymore about this bad Dodgers team.
As for the suspensions that were handed down today, I have no comment. The Dodgers didn't have any devastating suspensions, thank goodness Yasiel Puig wasn't suspended. Suspended for the Dodgers were Don Mattingly, Mark McGwire, Ronald Belisario, J.P. Howell, Skip Schumaker. Will someone please tell Belisario to shut up about hostilities between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers aren't over yet. If the Dodgers are that fired up about the brawl, I wish they'd use that feeling in their play.
In the first game of their 3 game series, Pittsburgh beat the moribund Dodgers 3-0. LA took advantage of their day off by scoring as many runs on Friday as they did on their day off- 0. LA had 6 hits in another pathetically inept offensive performance. The Dodgers only had one extra base hit and were 0-4 with runners in scoring position. They finished with 5 players left on base. That really isn't that many, actually it's more of an indication of how few players LA actually got on base.
Guess who the Dodger was that had the most hits. Well who else but Yasiel Puig, he was 2 for 4 and is hitting .487 this season.
The Dodgers are now 28-38 and last place in the NL West. Not only are they last place in the NL West, but they continue to fall behind even more. LA are 4.5 games behind 4th place San Diego. The Dodgers have a 1.8% chance of reaching the playoffs. They have a better chance of making the playoffs than only really, really bad teams. Milwaukee (1.5%), Seattle (1.4%), Mets (1.0%), Miami (.1%)
Meanwhile Pittsburgh remains competitive in the very tough NL Central Division. Although they've only won half of their last 10 games, they are still within striking range of the Cardinals. Pittsburgh is 40-27 and only 3 games behind the Cardinals for the NL Central lead. Pittsburgh has a 46.5% chance of making the playoffs. Unlike the Dodgers they also have a pulse and it seems some team chemistry.
For the Pirates Andrew McCutchen continues his flirtation with .300. He was 2 for 4 today and is hitting .299. He has the best batting average of any regular player on the Pirates. Dodgers and Pirates hitters are hitting about the same if you subtract the anomaly of Puig. The Pirates play in a tougher division and have only scored 20 more runs than the Dodgers, so why do they have 12 more wins?
It's not many teams that can trade away their All-Star closer and actually get better. However that's what happened to the Pirates. They traded Joel Hanrahan to the Red Sox and then signed Jason Grilli in free agency. Grilli had his 24th save of the season and has an incredible 0.91 ERA. He's tied with the Orioles Jim Johnson for most saves in the MLB. Meanwhile the Dodgers former closer, Brandon League, is tied for second in blown saves.
themusicaddict
themusicaddict's Top 10 All-time American Idols, #5: Jennifer Hudson
Hello,
I've been busy writing my Dodgers Daily blogs and haven't been able to focus as much on music/ pop culture blogs as I would like. I'm not able to write a complete blog about Jennifer Hudson today as I just don't have the time. However I wanted to get the blog started.
The following is my #10 to #6 themusicaddict all-time Top 10 American Idols. If you'd like to read those blogs, I've listed the date. I also listed what season that Idol was on and how many views each blog has received. Needless to say, this blog doesn't get a lot of views.
I would like to briefly review my criteria for how I came up with this list. Some of the criteria were 1) How they performed on the show, not so much where they ended when the season was over. 2) Their pop factor, in other words how much did they pop off the screen. 3) Their after "Idol" career and 4) Their likability.
10) Alexis Grace, October 10th, 2012, Season 8, 22 page views. Although she finished in 11th place, I thought she was one of the best singers that season. Like Pia Toscano she was voted off the show way too early.
9) Crystal Bowersox, October 14th, 2012, Season 9, 12 page views. She was easily the best person her season. Do you remember who won Season 9? So you don't have to Google it, it was Lee Dewyze. In no way am I a DeWyze hater, he has a great voice. However it was clear to see that he was never going to be a big star. Neither one has had an amazing career, but which one do you think anyone might remember in 10 years?
8) Haley Reinhart, October 16th, 2012, Season 10, 35 page views. Again my favorite Idol from her season. She has a great voice and I highly recommend people pick up her excellent CD "Listen Up!".
7) Jordin Sparks, October 22nd, 2012, Season 6, 19 page views. I don't think she receives enough credit for just how great her voice is.
6) David Cook, December 5th, 2012, Season 7, 35 page views. He hasn't quite had the career I had expected, but I love his voice and his songs. I really thought he would be a fairly big star. I highly recommend his self-titled debut CD. He also seems to be one of the nicest and classiest contestants to ever have been on the show.
Eventually I'll have more time and I'll start writing about the incredible Jennifer Hudson. Amazing voice, great actress and now weight loss spokesman. I want to say how fantastic she looks after her weight loss. Congrats Jennifer.
Jennifer Hudson's "American Idol" audition:
Just a preview of some of the great work of JHud, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going":
"No One Gonna Love You":
One more note: I'll never write a Bottom Ten All-Time American Idol list, there's just too much competition. It would be hard to decide who is more annoying between Danny Gokey and Jacob Lusk. Kris Allen and Scotty McDreary seem like good guys, but talk about no stage presence or charisma. There's also weak voiced Paul McDonald, over hyped Adam Lambert and really he finished that high Blake Lewis.
And don't get me started on all the awful judges that have been on "Idol".
Season 2 might have been my least favorite season, of the first 10 seasons. No one from that season made my Top Ten list.
themusicaddict
I've been busy writing my Dodgers Daily blogs and haven't been able to focus as much on music/ pop culture blogs as I would like. I'm not able to write a complete blog about Jennifer Hudson today as I just don't have the time. However I wanted to get the blog started.
The following is my #10 to #6 themusicaddict all-time Top 10 American Idols. If you'd like to read those blogs, I've listed the date. I also listed what season that Idol was on and how many views each blog has received. Needless to say, this blog doesn't get a lot of views.
I would like to briefly review my criteria for how I came up with this list. Some of the criteria were 1) How they performed on the show, not so much where they ended when the season was over. 2) Their pop factor, in other words how much did they pop off the screen. 3) Their after "Idol" career and 4) Their likability.
10) Alexis Grace, October 10th, 2012, Season 8, 22 page views. Although she finished in 11th place, I thought she was one of the best singers that season. Like Pia Toscano she was voted off the show way too early.
9) Crystal Bowersox, October 14th, 2012, Season 9, 12 page views. She was easily the best person her season. Do you remember who won Season 9? So you don't have to Google it, it was Lee Dewyze. In no way am I a DeWyze hater, he has a great voice. However it was clear to see that he was never going to be a big star. Neither one has had an amazing career, but which one do you think anyone might remember in 10 years?
8) Haley Reinhart, October 16th, 2012, Season 10, 35 page views. Again my favorite Idol from her season. She has a great voice and I highly recommend people pick up her excellent CD "Listen Up!".
7) Jordin Sparks, October 22nd, 2012, Season 6, 19 page views. I don't think she receives enough credit for just how great her voice is.
6) David Cook, December 5th, 2012, Season 7, 35 page views. He hasn't quite had the career I had expected, but I love his voice and his songs. I really thought he would be a fairly big star. I highly recommend his self-titled debut CD. He also seems to be one of the nicest and classiest contestants to ever have been on the show.
Eventually I'll have more time and I'll start writing about the incredible Jennifer Hudson. Amazing voice, great actress and now weight loss spokesman. I want to say how fantastic she looks after her weight loss. Congrats Jennifer.
Jennifer Hudson's "American Idol" audition:
Just a preview of some of the great work of JHud, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going":
"No One Gonna Love You":
One more note: I'll never write a Bottom Ten All-Time American Idol list, there's just too much competition. It would be hard to decide who is more annoying between Danny Gokey and Jacob Lusk. Kris Allen and Scotty McDreary seem like good guys, but talk about no stage presence or charisma. There's also weak voiced Paul McDonald, over hyped Adam Lambert and really he finished that high Blake Lewis.
And don't get me started on all the awful judges that have been on "Idol".
Season 2 might have been my least favorite season, of the first 10 seasons. No one from that season made my Top Ten list.
themusicaddict
Thursday, June 13, 2013
MLB Update, June 13th, 2013 Extra Inning Madness: Cubs, Orioles, A's Win
Hello,
Beware of Thursday the 13th! There were 3 hard fought extra inning games today and amazingly the right team won all three. Almost! I'm writing in order of when the games finished.
1) First up, the Cubs beat the Reds 6-5 in 14 innings. The hero was pinch hitter Julio Borbon, he had the walk off single in the bottom of that 14th inning. With the Cubs winning today, they broke the Reds 12 game winning streak at Wrigley Field. Yes, that's right Cincinnati had won 12 straight games at historic Wrigley Field. Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro are suppose to be two of the key players in the future for the Cubs. Castro was 3 for 7 and is hitting .243 on the season. Rizzo was 0 for 5 and strangely enough is also hitting .243. Their seasons are reflecting the season of the team they play for.
While this was a nice win for the Reds, in the grand scheme of the season it really doesn't mean much. The Cubs are still slowly building towards being a playoff contender in the next couple of years, if most things break right. However the Cubs are still 26-38 and last place in the NL Central. They trail first place St. Louis by 16 games. The Cubs have won 1 game in a row, 3 of 10 and have a 3.7% chance to win.
The Cubs win could have also benefited the Pirates today. If the Pirates could have finished their sweep against the Giants, they would have been all alone in 2nd place in the NL Central. Unfortunately the Giants steam rolled the Pirates 10-0. The Pirates received more bad news today. Pittsburgh's scheduled pitcher, A.J. Burnett, for Friday has gone on the 15 day DL. It now appears that Jeff Locke (5-1, 2.39 ERA) will be starting for the Pirates tomorrow. Pittsburgh starts a 3 game series against the Dodgers.
2) Oakland beat New York 3-2 in 18 innings to complete the sweep of the Evil Empire. The hero was Nate Freiman, he had the walk off hit against Mariano Rivera. I believe it's only the second time this season Rivera played a game where he did not record an out. Jesse Chavez was masterful for the A's over the final 5 2/3rds innings and earned his first win of the season. Chavez threw 71 pitches in relief and only gave up 1 hit.
My favorite stat of this game was the combined 0 for 28 put up by Mark Texeria (0-5), Travis Hafner (0-8), Kevin Youkilis (0-7) and Vernon Wells (0-8).
Oakland remains one of the hottest teams in MLB, they've now won 21 of 26 games. The A's are first in the AL West after sweeping the Yankees. (I know I wrote that already, but I enjoy writing about the Yankees getting swept.) The A's now lead the Rangers by 2 games. Oakland has won 3 games in a row, 7 of 10 and has a 75.3% chance of making the playoffs.
The A's start a 3 game series against the Mariners tomorrow in Oakland. Then Oakland travels to Texas for a huge 4 game series against the Padres. Meanwhile the Evil Empire will travel to play Anaheim in the spending a lot of money doesn't guarantee success series. It will be the 28-38 Angels vs. the 37-29 Yankees.
3) The extra-inning game that ended last today was between Baltimore and Boston. I always hate when two of my teams play each other as most of the time I don't know who to cheer for. In 13 innings the Orioles prevailed 5-4. The hero in this game was Chris Davis, he had the walk off single. Davis is hitting .338 on the season. Manny Machado, who many people think belong in the same conversation as Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, was 2 for 7. He's hitting .316 for the Orioles and should be a long time cornerstone for the Orioles.
Unlike Pittsburgh, Baltimore took advantage of their opportunity to move into second place in their division. Baltimore is now 38-29 and trail first place Boston by 2.5 games. They lead the Yankees by .5 game for second place. Baltimore has a 33.2% chance of making the playoffs.
Meanwhile for Boston, David Ortiz had his 14th home run of the season. Ortiz has 49 RBIs on the season and is hitting .306. The Red Sox, tied for the best record in the AL with Oakland, is now 41-27. Boston has a 84.8% chance of making the playoffs.
Boston and Baltimore play 3 more games against each other at Camden Yards this weekend.
themusicaddict
Beware of Thursday the 13th! There were 3 hard fought extra inning games today and amazingly the right team won all three. Almost! I'm writing in order of when the games finished.
1) First up, the Cubs beat the Reds 6-5 in 14 innings. The hero was pinch hitter Julio Borbon, he had the walk off single in the bottom of that 14th inning. With the Cubs winning today, they broke the Reds 12 game winning streak at Wrigley Field. Yes, that's right Cincinnati had won 12 straight games at historic Wrigley Field. Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro are suppose to be two of the key players in the future for the Cubs. Castro was 3 for 7 and is hitting .243 on the season. Rizzo was 0 for 5 and strangely enough is also hitting .243. Their seasons are reflecting the season of the team they play for.
While this was a nice win for the Reds, in the grand scheme of the season it really doesn't mean much. The Cubs are still slowly building towards being a playoff contender in the next couple of years, if most things break right. However the Cubs are still 26-38 and last place in the NL Central. They trail first place St. Louis by 16 games. The Cubs have won 1 game in a row, 3 of 10 and have a 3.7% chance to win.
The Cubs win could have also benefited the Pirates today. If the Pirates could have finished their sweep against the Giants, they would have been all alone in 2nd place in the NL Central. Unfortunately the Giants steam rolled the Pirates 10-0. The Pirates received more bad news today. Pittsburgh's scheduled pitcher, A.J. Burnett, for Friday has gone on the 15 day DL. It now appears that Jeff Locke (5-1, 2.39 ERA) will be starting for the Pirates tomorrow. Pittsburgh starts a 3 game series against the Dodgers.
2) Oakland beat New York 3-2 in 18 innings to complete the sweep of the Evil Empire. The hero was Nate Freiman, he had the walk off hit against Mariano Rivera. I believe it's only the second time this season Rivera played a game where he did not record an out. Jesse Chavez was masterful for the A's over the final 5 2/3rds innings and earned his first win of the season. Chavez threw 71 pitches in relief and only gave up 1 hit.
My favorite stat of this game was the combined 0 for 28 put up by Mark Texeria (0-5), Travis Hafner (0-8), Kevin Youkilis (0-7) and Vernon Wells (0-8).
Oakland remains one of the hottest teams in MLB, they've now won 21 of 26 games. The A's are first in the AL West after sweeping the Yankees. (I know I wrote that already, but I enjoy writing about the Yankees getting swept.) The A's now lead the Rangers by 2 games. Oakland has won 3 games in a row, 7 of 10 and has a 75.3% chance of making the playoffs.
The A's start a 3 game series against the Mariners tomorrow in Oakland. Then Oakland travels to Texas for a huge 4 game series against the Padres. Meanwhile the Evil Empire will travel to play Anaheim in the spending a lot of money doesn't guarantee success series. It will be the 28-38 Angels vs. the 37-29 Yankees.
3) The extra-inning game that ended last today was between Baltimore and Boston. I always hate when two of my teams play each other as most of the time I don't know who to cheer for. In 13 innings the Orioles prevailed 5-4. The hero in this game was Chris Davis, he had the walk off single. Davis is hitting .338 on the season. Manny Machado, who many people think belong in the same conversation as Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, was 2 for 7. He's hitting .316 for the Orioles and should be a long time cornerstone for the Orioles.
Unlike Pittsburgh, Baltimore took advantage of their opportunity to move into second place in their division. Baltimore is now 38-29 and trail first place Boston by 2.5 games. They lead the Yankees by .5 game for second place. Baltimore has a 33.2% chance of making the playoffs.
Meanwhile for Boston, David Ortiz had his 14th home run of the season. Ortiz has 49 RBIs on the season and is hitting .306. The Red Sox, tied for the best record in the AL with Oakland, is now 41-27. Boston has a 84.8% chance of making the playoffs.
Boston and Baltimore play 3 more games against each other at Camden Yards this weekend.
themusicaddict
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